Sky to block pornography by default to protect children
 

Broadband provider Sky will block adult content by default, unless users opt out, it has revealed.

The decision was announced in a blog post and will be phased in over coming weeks.

In 2013 Prime Minister David Cameron put pressure on internet service provider [ISPs] to make online filtering mandatory, saying it was the best way to protect children.

His request caused controversy among politicians and the internet industry.

Since then most of the UK's ISPs have offered filtering software for parents concerned about what their children may be able to access online but few have offered this by default, opting instead to allow parents or other customers to turn the filters on if they want them.

Sky's Broadband Shield is designed to filter out content deemed to be unsuitable for children aged under 13. It has been offered as default to new customers for a year.

But now the firm has decided to also offer it to all its existing customers, some 5.3 million in total.

In her blog post, Lyssa McGowan, Sky's brand director, explained why it was changing its policy.

"What we're doing now is simply making sure that the automatic position of Sky Broadband Shield is the safest one for all - that's 'on', unless customers choose otherwise," she said.

Censorship
In the next few weeks Sky customers who have not chosen to either activate or disable its Broadband Shield would be emailed "giving them the opportunity to make a decision one way or the other", she said.

Once activated, users will not be able to access a filtered site without altering their settings.

Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group (ORG), was dismayed by the news.

"Censorship should never be turned on by default," he said.

"ORG's Blocked project (Report mobile and Internet Service Providers blocking sites | Home) has shown that filters block all kinds of websites, including some that provide useful advice to children and young people. Customers need to understand the implications of filters before deciding whether or not they want them."

All the UK's big four ISPs - BT, Virgin Media, Sky and TalkTalk - offer filtering systems to help parents prevent their children viewing inappropriate material online although few have decided to oblige users to adopt the system.

They have said that they will make sure all customers are aware of the filters.

In October, BT started using interrupting browsing sessions for customers who had not set up the parental controls asking them whether they wished to activate them but not obliging them to.

Most of the systems used by ISPs work at a network level, which means that all devices that connect to a home router will be subject to the same filtering system.

Andrew Ferguson, founder of broadband news site ThinkBroadband, said that parents should not rely solely on filters to protect their children from online nasties.

"As ever the filters don't block all unsavoury material so are not a replacement for parenting and the embarrassing questions all parents have to face," he said.

BBC News - Sky to block pornography by default to protect children

poor porn surfers, two more clicks ...

:disgust:disgust:disgust:disgust

damn UK get more muslim every day, shit crazy there.

thanks for link https://www.blocked.org.uk/thankyou this great site fuck over competitor :winkwink:

In actually agree with this.

good move SKY. it will help decrease the alarming and increasing number of teenage pregnancies and premarital sex since underage children will no longer have easy access to porn flicks.

good point miss :thumbsup

thanks! :banana

Porn with sex education is the key.

it isn't... will be better off if parants adapt new and changing technologies, nobody has to live with censorship due to irresponsible parents can't watch their little bastards watching porn.

i m sick of hearing this let's create safe heavens for children bullshit, this World belongs to adults as well as it is for children.

isps can offer filtres for families that want to keep their children apart from obsenity and such, that is fine and acceptable, but default one isn't.

I'm sure this is going to save all those special little snow flakes, especially the ones who have smart phones or go to friends houses that don't have the filter.

Mobile phones here have had blocked by default already for several years now.

The interesting thing is that this news comes the same time the Sun drops page 3 (both owned by the same person).

https://gfy.com/fucking-around-and-pr...res-times.html

How do you get the right wing Christians to be Muslims?

No Muslims have been involved in this campaign led by the Daily Mail, the favourite paper of moronic Brit webmasters, to ban porn.

In fact the Daily Mail also shares your irrational anti Muslim views.

so teenagers seeing naked body = bad. insulting an entire religions holiest deity, AOK.

no wonder the USA was created by people who left europe behind.

:2 cents:

This country gets shittier by the day...

Try the planet :Oh crap

Should be a choice, and pre-marital sex..lol, thats some god-loving bullshit, the bible is worse than porn, and has no images of boobs, why would anybody want to read it?

It won't stop teenage pregnancies, teenagers shall be doing it more from the boredom of no porn :2 cents: